ACL reconstruction/quad imbalance

[Victoria]

Hi guys. I had ACL reconstruction surgery (and meniscus repair) 17 months ago after rupturing the ligament. The surgeon used donor tissue so there was no need to take tissue from elsewhere in the leg. I’ve made a really good recovery overall – I’ve regained 100% ROM and am now able to train legs as I was before the op with no pain or issues at all. In terms of muscle mass, my hams, glutes and calves are now equal between both legs but I still have an imbalance between the quads. What would you recommend for bringing up the quad on the operated leg? I know the answer will probably be to focus on unilateral movements, but I’m not sure how to structure it, eg. should I do more work overall on the operated leg until it catches up? Any help would be super appreciated. Thank you.

[Lucas Frahm]

What I would do (for the uni-lateral movements) is start off working the smaller/weaker quad. Lets say you do leg extensions. Start off doing leg extensions on your weak leg. Let’s then say you get 10 reps with 30 kg. Then you switch to your bigger/stronger leg. Here you should do exactly the same amount of reps with exactly the same amount of weight, even if you could do twice as much. This means you still work both legs, and while the weight remains the same the smaller leg will be stimulated much better due to it actually being taken to momentary muscular failure. This you should repeat on other exercises also untill strength/size is the same.

[BryceBahm]

[Joe]

[Victoria]

Thank you both so much – this is really helpful. Appreciate it!

[Author]

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